Doing It My Way - Freelance Traveller

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Doing It My Way (Continued from page 5) Some examples: A teleport will suddenly find himself teleported away in a random direction, to the maximum possible range given the greater of his own psionic strength or the psiren‘s. Any talent-related protections against materializing in solid objects, or requirements that the teleport know his destination, are not in effect. Psionic shields will, instead of deflecting psionic energy, draw it to the psion, effectively resulting in a psionic assault. Pyrokinetics will find themselves set on fire by their own talent. Telepaths and clairvoyants (including clairaudients and danger-sensors) will suffer the psionic equivalent to sensory overload. If there is enough psionic strength involved, the overload could result in permanent damage to the psion. Discovering the Psiren In any situation where a participant may have their startle reflex or fight-or-flight reflex triggered, and where there are known psions, roll 4- on 4D6. If this roll succeeds, someone whose startle/fight-or -flight reflex has been triggered is a psiren, and the referee should apply effects on each psion in the area as outlined above. If there are no known psions in the vicinity, secretly roll 4- on 4D; if this roll succeeds, arbitrarily select one character – PC or NPC; it doesn‘t matter – and designate him a latent psion. Then roll 4- on 4D again, and apply an effect of a psiren being ―set off‖ to the character. If the effect is recognized as a psiren being triggered, the psiren may be identified by any psion with the ability to detect psionic potential in a person. If a PC seeks to learn whether he has psionic potential (or knows he does and is seeking training), he may be a psiren. To determine this, roll psionic testing normally. If the test succeeds, the PC has the talent, as normal. If the test fails (the player does not have talent tested for), note the dif- ference between the roll required for success for the player, and the actual roll (this is called the ―failure margin‖, or ―FM‖). The referee should then roll the same task as the player, with an additional negative DM of the player‘s FM. If the referee‘s roll succeeds, the player is not triggered, and the player should proceed to the next test (after which, the referee rolls for triggering again, if the player fails). If any referee triggering roll fails (the PC is triggered, and thus a psiren), no further psionic testing is carried out; the player is told that he is a psiren and untrainable. If the player succeeds (and the PC therefore has a ‗normal‘ psionic talent), the referee does not roll any further triggering tests; the PC is not a psiren. Examples These examples use the Mongoose Traveller Core Rules. June and Bill wish to have their characters tested for psionics. Both have served two terms in the Scouts; thus, their Psionic Strengths are determined by 2D6-2. Bill‘s PSI is 8. He elects to test first for Telepathy. This requires that he roll 8+ on 2D6, with no characteristic DM, and a learning DM of +4. He rolls 3; 3+4=7, so he does not have Telepathy. He missed the roll of 8+ by 1; his Failure Margin (FM) is 1. The referee now rolls 2D6 for 8+, with a DM of +4 (the same as Bill rolled), plus an additional DM of -1 (Bill‘s FM). The referee rolls 6; (6+4)- 1=9, so Bill is not triggered, and may roll for his next talent test. He elects to roll for Teleportation. His DMs are zero for his Characteristic DM, zero for the learning DM, and -1 for having tested for one talent previously. Bill rolls 6; 6-1=5, so he does not have Teleportation. He missed the roll of 8+ by 3; his FM is 3. The referee now rolls 2D6 for 8+, with DMs of -1 (Bill‘s DMs for the test) and -3 (Bill‘s FM). The referee rolls 9; (9-1)-3=5, so Bill is triggered, causing much panic and consternation among the testing staff, as the Telepaths on the staff all seem to have experienced psionic Assaults, the Teleports have all disappeared, and every Clairvoyant is complaining about a major headache, except for the three that were knocked unconscious. (Continued on page 7) 6

Doing It My Way (Continued from page 6) Bill is hustled out the door, told he‘s a psiren, and not to come back; there is nothing that anyone can do with him, psionically. June‘s PSI is 10. Her Characteristic Modifier for PSI is +1. She elects to test first for Teleportation. This requires that she roll 8+ on 2D6, with DM +1 for her PSI Characteristic DM, and zero for the learning DM for Teleportation. She rolls 4; 4+1=5, so she does not have Teleportation. She missed the roll of 8+ by 3, so her FM is 3. The referee now rolls 2D6 for 8+, with DMs +1 (the same as June‘s) and -3 (June‘s FM). The referee rolls 10; (10+1)-3=8, so June is not triggered, and may roll for her next talent test. She elects to roll for Telepathy. Her DMs are +1 for her PSI Characteristic DM, +4 for the learning DM for Telepathy, and -1 for having tested for one talent previously. She rolls 6; ((6+1)+4)-1=10, so June has successfully tested for Telepathy, and cannot be a psiren. The referee makes no further tests for June being a psiren; complete psionic testing normally. Essay Question Essay Question is designed to allow our readers to share their experiences and ideas in playing or refereeing Traveller, or in designing things to be used in campaigns. Each issue, we‘ll print one or more questions, either submitted by one of our readers, or invented by the Editor. Readers are invited to send their answers (and their questions for f u t u r e i s s u e s ) t o u s a t q u e s - tions@freelancetraveller.com; we‘ll print a selection of the answers received in each issue. This month, we get replies to some of our previous questions, and we add two new questions. New questions for this month: What books—or series of books—that you’ve read would you consider “Travelleresque”? Why? Would you recommend them to someone who wanted to know what Traveller is like, but couldn’t play at the time she asked? It is widely held that there are three overall styles of gaming: Gamism, Narrativism, and Simulationism (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ GNS_Theory). Which do you think is best supported by Traveller, and which do you prefer? Why? (Your answer to this may be a reasoned refutation of the validity of the GNS model.) Previous questions: Do you feel that a well-developed “canonical” background is essential for Traveller gaming? Why, or why not? “kafka” answers: My take on canon is that it is important for it to be logically consistent yet not hamper sandbox play. The Imperial Campaign is often cited as too constraining because of its vast history. However, players usually only interact with a very small portion of that history. Therefore, I liken Traveller canon to an impressionist painting where every dot on its own is a world of colour but only when you stand far enough back do you actually see the painting for all its beauty. Similarly, the pageant of the Imperial Campaign should frame certain assumptions but the only person who can have that perspective is the referee for it allows him or her to frame action within certain parameters or not. The Players‘ role is to have fun. I don‘t think that it‘s really fun to poke apart the setting. It is enough for the Referee to hopefully drop little bits and dribbles of canon to reward the old timers/ grognards but never enough show the entire painting to the players. Gamemastering, like painting, is an art form: the Referee, like the master artist, is never satisfied…and is always going back to improve her/his own game. When running/playing in an adventure, do you feel that accuracy should take precedence over story, or vice-versa? Why? “kafka” answers: Accuracy is important in Traveller. As it is a Hard Space Opera, it is grounded in the real world as much as it does have the elements of the fantastical. I play with real 7

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Page 5 and 6: In A Store Near You Early (TL8-10)

Page 7: Active Measures Dead Hand by Jeffre

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